Moments In Time
by evilmayor
Summary: A series of one-shots from the POV of Regina Mills.
1. Chapter 1: Desire

Her blood rushed through her ears as her carriage approached the forest, a maliceful excitement sparkling in her eyes, only dulled by pained grief. It had finally arrived; the day she would cast her curse. She had gone to Rumplestiltskin after her first attempt had failed, demanding answers from the imprisoned imp. The damn thing had giggled at her, rejoicing in her original failure. It had given him the opportunity to cut a deal, the brunette desperate for answers when only he held all the cards.

In the main scheme of things, a cushy life for her former mentor had been a bargain for the information she had received, as difficult as it was to hear. Even more painful to commit, she had ripped her Father's heart out, the still-beating organ trapped within the box that shook in her hands as her carriage jolted. Tears of anguish had streamed down her face as she stared at her Daddy's heart, using the last bit of kindness within her to order the man to sleep; to never wake up. The least she could do was give him a painless death.

The guards opened the door to her compartment, silent as their Queen stepped down from the carriage, head held high. A Queen, until the very end. She was alone, this time. She supposed it was fate's idea of mirth; she would be the only one to witness her victory, as she would be the only one to remember. Besides a handful of others, written into the curse to be believed insane. A moment of quiet triumph before she rode to the White Kingdom to put an end to the only threat her curse had; the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. She had heard that they were naming the child 'Emma'. Charming.

She walked into the forest, her father's heart tucked beneath her cloak, not even the birds disturbing her solace with their inspid chirping. She soon came upon the site of her first attempt; her failure. The fire had burned down to the embers, a complication soon remedied by a fireball from her skilled hands. Once more, she added the ingredients, focusing all of her energy into casting the curse. She imagined the life she would create, every aspect of the cursed town as she dropped each ingredient into the fire. What it would look like, who would live where, her painted nails gleaming in the firelight as she reached for the box that contained the very last ingredient. The heart of the one she loved the most.

"Goodbye, Daddy." She whispered, holding the organ over the flames, closing her eyes as her Father's heart slipped from her grip and into the burning inferno. The air around her thickened, magic pouring from the center of the fire and into the atmosphere. She inhaled the cloying smoke as it surrounded her, chocolate orbs glowing purple as her latent magic reacted to the magic that cloaked her. That would soon cloak an entire realm. She had done it. She had won.

She emerged from the forest with a triumphant smile upon her face, finding her Black Knights cowering by her carriage as they watched her curse begin to engulf the only home they had known. "GET UP!" She snarled, her cloak billowing around her frame as she approached her vehicle. All trace of the regret that had been etched upon her face as she had entered the forest had been masked, hidden beneath the victory that shone from her every orifice. Stepping into her compartment, she smirked, looking over her shoulder to the guard that would lead her carriage through hell and high water across the realm. "We have a child to attend to."


	2. Chapter 2: Fairytale

Her heels clicked against the hardwood as she stormed about her home, anxiety and anger bubbling in her stomach as she paced. Her life was falling to pieces around her, all due to a child's book of tales. Of course, it wasn't any child that was tearing her life apart. Fate wouldn't be so kind, not to her. It had to be her own /son/ that ruined her, a boy she considered flesh and blood bringing about her downfall. Had she been anything but the person she had become, she would have killed him on the spot, damning the special place in her heart that had been reserved for children. She could see it in Henry's eyes each morning; the awe that she hadn't killed him overnight. To him, she was the Evil Queen, a monstrous being that held no kindness in her heart. But she was his Mother. She loved him.

She had found the book beneath his pillow; she had learned his hiding spots long ago. For a thing that was sending her life into a hellish spiral, it looked innocent. Bound in leather, title embossed in gold, it appeared to be a mere book. Yet, it contained her life story, along with those of the town. She snorted as she ran the tips of her fingers over the cured leather, shaking her head; it was much too thin to be the complete version of the history of the Enchanted Forest. Perhaps that was why Henry viewed her as a soulless being; he didn't know the entire story. Eyes lighting up with hope, she found herself in her study, pawing through the pages of the book that was the beginning of her destruction, the story of her life. Finding where her part in the pages began, she sat back in her chair, beginning to read.

Hours later, she closed the book, fury ablaze in chocolate irises. How dare they paint her as the cruel, heartless monster, thriving off of the pain of others over a broken promise, of all things. Snow's slip of the tongue, she could forgive. She was but a mere child at the time, and her mother could be a very charming person. When she wanted to be, of course. It was the years after that she couldn't forget; the years spent under Leopold's thumb. The man old enough to be her Father had wed her and bed her until she was raw, blood soaking through her bedsheets as he tried to fill her with new life. He had wanted a male heir, and expected her to provide him one. When she failed, he beat her to a bloody pulp.

Snow hadn't been unaware, oh no. The prissy ebony princess had called healers into her chamber on more than one occasion to heal her step-mother, cupping the older woman's face as they worked on her broken body. Yet, the girl still held her Father in such high regard, working to turn her Kingdom against her before his body had even cooled. That, she couldn't forgive.

She wanted to burn the damn thing in the fireplace for the lies it told by omission, for daring to paint her as the cruelest in the land without shedding light on her motivation. She felt that she was justified in what she did, for what had been done to her. The collateral damage meant very little to her if it got her Snow White's head on a plate. The utter lack of recognition she had given her own husband that very first day of the curse had been a memory that Regina had cherished for years, her victory painted between the lines of the indifferent expression on Snow White's face as she gazed upon David's unconscious form.

But now, it wasn't enough. She could feel the change in the air, the residual magic from her curse crackling in the air as the clock tower on Main ticked, working for the first time in twenty-eight years as her curse destabilized. Her son had turned away from her, everything she had ever worked for was falling to pieces around her. With one last glance at the damned book, she snarled, locking the thing away in her desk. She had a meeting to attend to at Town Hall; she wanted to put a number of bills into place before all hell broke loose that would help run the town while the people revolted. She could no longer pretend that her curse wouldn't break; the Savior was in town, and she appeared to be staying, regardless of what she did. Her happy ending, the fairy tale life she had created for herself was coming to an end. Just like any other story.


End file.
